Jessica Alba: 'I don't like playing leads'

Jessica Alba has revealed that she does not like taking on a lead role in the films that she appears in.

In an interview with Elle, the actress admitted that she prefers to choose smaller parts with directors whose work she admires.

"I'm shy. I don't like being the center of attention. But when I do comedy, I lose all inhibition and introspection. I no longer care," she explained.

"The time I'm not spending with my kid has to be worth it, so when I sat down with my agents after I was ready to go back to work, I told them: It's all about the directors. Now I prefer I'm not the lead. It's a totally different approach - way better."

Alba went on to reflect upon the quality of her past projects.

"I know I haven't been swimming in the deep end with some of the movies I've done. I wasn't trying to. I knew what they were," she said.

"I'd been so afraid of criticism ever since I was young. Every time I'd get a critique or some redirection, I'd always just take it very personally, but now I have no problem with it. It's just a chance to try things a different way."